European shares slide

European shares fell sharply on Tuesday, extending the previous session's losses on concerns over global economic growth and another drop in oil prices below $30 a barrel, Reuters reported.

By 0909 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 was down 1.5 percent, after falling 0.7 percent on Monday, while the euro zone's blue chip Euro Stoxx 50 index was also down 1.2 percent.

Global stocks have had a rocky start to the year due to concerns over slowing growth in China and plunging crude prices, and with investors struggling to find safe haven investments.

However, Huber said it needed to be seen whether the latest selloff is indeed the onset of another major stock slump or just profit-taking in light of last week's impressive gains.

The FTSEurofirst 300 is down more than 9 percent since the start of the year.

The fresh slide in oil prices pushed energy sector stocks down 1.8 percent, making them the second-biggest sectoral loser with companies such as BP, Total and Eni all down by between 1.8 percent and 2.4 percent.